Amazing pictures of the cheetah cubs who developed a soft spot for their supper

By JANE FRYER

Last updated at 10:00 15 January 2008

For many youngsters, lessons have a tendency to feel long, interminably boring and difficult to sit still through.

Not, however, if you're a cheetah cub in Africa undergoing a masterclass in hunting from your very impressive mother.

This extraordinary series of photographs, taken in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya by top environmental photographer Andy Rouse, show a female cheetah demonstrating to her young the first rules of survival in the wild - how to hunt and kill.

After more than 20 minutes of torture for the gazelle, the cubs are getting the hang of it, their mother is satisfied and the gazelle, half-dead and breath coming in huge gasping rasps, makes one last bid for freedom.